A Year with the Beavers

A Beaver's Busy Year
by Mary Holland
32 pages; ages 4-8
Arbordale (formerly Sylvan Dell), 2014

Natural historian Mary Holland takes us into the lives of beavers through a year of seasons. We learn about their teeth - and how they use them to gnaw down trees for their building projects. We learn about their special see-through goggly eyes and their strong webbed feet. We see them get ready for winter and emerge with kits in the spring. And we even learn the secrets of how beavers get wood splinters out from between their teeth.

There's plenty of additional material for curious naturalists. Holland includes a section about "beaver signs". Just because you don't see beavers doesn't mean they aren't there, she says. You might find bite marks or tracks or other signs that they've been about. She also has a section about beavers as "habitat engineers" and gives a closer look at how they build their dams. And though some people think of them as pests, beavers play a role as a "keystone species" in an ecosystem.

When not writing books, Mary Holland is out with her camera observing nature. Check out her awesome website, Naturally Curious. And remember to drop by STEM Friday to see what other science books and resources bloggers are sharing. Review copy provided by publisher

A Hot Mystery for National Wildlife Week ~ Flash Point

Flash Point

by Sneed B. Collard III

256 pages; age 11 & up

Peachtree Publishers 2011 (reprint edition)

Wildfires have been burning all around Heartwood, Montana, since August and Luther can’t remember the last time he saw blue sky. The air is so bad that coach has canceled football practice and some of the guys from the team invite Luther to join them at the burger joint. But he’s got a job, and besides, he didn’t go out for the team this year.

His job: caring for birds at the raptor center. Hawks and eagles that some folks – including kids on the team – think of as nuisance birds. Targets.

While wildfires threaten his home and his stepfather’s livelihood – just about everyone’s job is touched by the timber industry – Luther struggles to resolve his own conflicts. His love for the raptors gives him a different view of forestry policies, pitting him against former team mates.

He finds a kindred spirit in Alex, a girl new to the school and also a social “outsider”. Things heat up when someone starts shooting the birds from the raptor center and suspicious fires start breaking out too close to town.

This award-winning book is a great mystery for young adults who want something that reflects their world. It’s also a good book to read during National Wildlife Week, which starts today. If you’re looking for ways to get involved in learning about wildlife, check out this Science NetLinks project from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). You’ll find books,videos, apps and more.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Bring on the Demolition crew!

Demolition
by Sally Sutton; illus by Brian Lovelock
22 pages (board book)
Candlewick Press, 2014

My kids loved watching trucks and construction machinery. It didn't matter whether buildings were going up or bridges were coming down - they lived for the noise and rumble and the sight of a crew getting things done.

This is a fun book to read aloud for the rhymes and the noises. There are zips and snaps and cracks  creaks and bangs and crunches - each page is full of wonderful noises that kids will love to shout aloud.

Screech! Scrunch! Rip! Those are the sounds of machinery knocking things down. Those are the sounds of people at work. And after all the concrete has been hauled away, the steel recycled and the wood chipped... there's construction, and a place to play. Hip, hip, hooray!

Review copy provided by the publisher.